The earthquake in Nepal in May exposed the national government’s unpreparedness to deal with the aftermath of a huge natural disaster, but it also gave rise to a movement of young Nepalese people with the skills required to help their country in its hour of need.

Quakemap.org invited people to report earthquake damage in real-time and list what kind of aid was required around the country.

For example: someone in contact with, or living in, an affected community might mark on the map that 50 tents were needed in a certain district.

People could also mark areas where people were trapped, where roads were blocked and where shelters had been set up.

There were over 2,000 reports made on the map, from all across Nepal.

While phone networks were sketchy in the days following the quake, many people — even in remote regions — had access to the internet on their mobile phones and this became the primary method of communication for those affected by the disaster.

This information registered on Quakemap.org was public and thus instantly available to both official and ad-hoc aid groups.

Once the aid had been delivered or if the needs of a community changed after the initial report, the database could be instantly updated to prevent redundant supplies being sent out.

One of the major challenges following the earthquake was the void in information — there was a gap between what victims were looking for and what relief organisations were providing.

Started by a local photojournalist, it brought together images of quake damage that were seen by tens of thousands of followers around the world.

The crowd-sourced pictures also gave people an insight into the degree of damage suffered in hard-to-reach regions.

The account’s moderators wanted to post useful information, rather than just sensational images, so posts often included links to reliable aid organisations or local volunteer groups.

The @nepalphotoproject account also spread the word about Quakemap.org and posted photos of missing people in the days after the earthquake.

Both projects were a kind of rolling coverage with added information — useful data that people from around Nepal and the world could use to direct their help quickly and effectively, during a period that was otherwise characterised by chaos.